Corvette's ZR1 has power to surprise

* ZR1 supercar has 624bhp * Goes on sale in Europe at end of year * Likely to cost from 100,000...

Corvette's ZR1 has power to surprise

Corvette has revealed that its ZR1 supercar has 634bhp - 26bhp more than it originally thought.

The announcement came following official tests of the car's power output. Corvette admitted that it had only estimated the output when the car was unveiled at this year's Detroit motor show.

Official test figures also show that the car has 604lb ft of pulling power - 9lb ft more than originally estimated.

The ZR1 is based on the same aluminium chassis as the Z06, and uses carbonfibre in the bodywork to bring its kerbweight down to 1519kg.

It goes on sale in Europe at the end of this year for an estimated 100,000, but with a limited production run of 3000 cars, few are expected to make it to the UK.

With a top speed of 205mph, it is the fastest production Corvette ever built, and it has a power-to-weight ratio substantially better than the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

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